Bagi
by Zinico
Summary: Everyone was defenseless at some point. It's up to those who can defend them to do so. Zinico, a nine month old wolf-kid, and the Older of the two surviving human cross geane experiments, has taken position as the young kitten "Bagi" gaurdian. As anyone can tell you, Bagi won't be vunarable forever. Or friendly... *Warning* This story has been pronounced as dead.
1. Chapter 1

Bagi, monster of mighty nature. Revived and revised!

Chapter one, a life and death situation.

Smoke was rising from the large research center, and Ryo knew he didn't have much time. There was burning gasoline in the garage, set of by stray gun fire. He couldn't leave. Not yet. Though personal survival was one matter, the life of his mother and friend was just more important. He was standing on the roof of the east wing. Having just defeated the right hand man of the south Americans president in a motorcycle battle, and he was mentally exhausted., and found it hard to look around. He gazed over at the main entrance of the lab. He wouldn't make it if he went in that way. The men that worked for the president guy would surly recognize him, and that would be the end of his luck. Suddenly, the door busted open and a lithe, pink shape darted out. He recognized it immediately. Bagi. " Hay, Bagi," He called out to her "Did you find my mother!" But she ignored him, and ran out across the driveway that led from the lab towards the jungle. He noticed a small green pendant around her neck.

Bagi was carrying a bagged ball of some genetically enhanced rice his mother had taken part of creating. He could tell because each grain was huge. His curiosity was provoked, and Ryo hopped on to the motorcycle again and revved it. He aimed his new bike towards the edge of the building, and jammed the throttle. He careened of the ledge of the roof, angling the cycle downward, front wheel first.. At the last second, before he hit the ground, he leaned back, using the front tire as a pivot point to loosen the shock of the fall. It was a move he was forced to practice when he was a go-getter, in case he had some goods and was under hot pursuit. But, he had yet to perfect the trick, and was almost launched off the bike, loosing control only for a second. He tightened his grip on the steering and speed up after Bagi, not noticing his mother, beaten and bitten to death, roll down the steps to the lab…

Bagi had dived into the woods, as fast as ever, and was running unwaveringly toward the mountains to the north, speeding through each tree as though she had the path memorized. He could barely keep up with her, even though he had a flat road to travel on. Only that fact that she was blocked by trees and he was unhindered allowed him to keep up. He was already at about double over what he was use to driving at. A huge explosion sounded behind him, reminding him of his mother. He was scared for her safety. Then he remembered that Bagi had agreed to rescue her. She probably had made it out of the building, or was carried off by those South American govern people. Either way, Ryo knew he would need Bagi's help to find his mother. He had never known Bagi to fail her tasks in the week he had known her, even if he was unconscious for three days of it.

He saw his chance to intercept Bagi as the road turned over her path. He speed up further reaching the max speed of the bike, which wasn't to much faster than he was going. He wasn't surprised that it wasn't much faster than Bagi. His first impression of her return was her slipping past him to stop him when he was driving away in fear. He started into the turn, hoping to run Bagi side by side with him so he could talk to her, even if she couldn't respond. He looked for Bagi quickly, trying to time it right. To his shock, Bagi was air born and headed straight toward him. She rammed right into him and they cleared the road. They crashed into the jungle on the opposite side of the road, and Ryo thought he broke something. He bounced up and rolled sideways into a tree, hitting his shoulder with force. He landed hard on the ground., then his breath was driven from him as Bagi landed on top of him.

Bagi pushed herself off of Ryo and stood. She had a trace of a snarl in her throat. It ceased when she recognized Ryo. She backed off and stood facing him, contemplating what she should do next. "Bagi…" Ryo felt like he would never breath again. "What happened?" Bagi thought of running off. Natural animal instinct. She held some of her intellect, though, and shook off the urge. She didn't know if what she was dosed with was still working. She could still understand him and think properly to a point, though fighting instincts and natural reactions was several times more difficult. She hoped and reasoned that the effects of the drug were slowing and stopping. Otherwise, she thought, she would have already torn apart Ryo. She was sick with the thought.

In her stupor of thought, Ryo remembered the pendant that he had seen Bagi wearing. It was still hung loosely around her neck, dimly sparkling in the shade of the trees. Ryo gently removed it, not waking Bagi from her thoughts. The movement agitated his hits, and he clenched his teeth around his yelp of pain. He still shaken from being rammed into a tree then landed on, Bagi blinked, then noticed Ryo had the pendant. . "How did you get this, Bagi?" At closer inspection, he recognized it as his mothers favorite jewelry. Not for fashion, but practicality. It could pop open to hide al sorts of things. Bagi shook her head. She hadn't even remembered that she had the pendant, or why. Ryo understood. When he had last saw her, she had been completely unable to speak. She still seemed rationale, as she wasn't sharpening her claws on him. He still cursed his mother for injecting Bagi. The effects of the drug completely turned of the conscience, and when they came to, they would loose all memory. Like amnesia, but it took everything with it. There was a counter drug. Under development. So far, nothing had been found. Bagi was stronger that the average human, or anything for that matter.

Ryo opened the locket, expecting a family photo or one of her husband. Bagi sat down, staring at him expectantly and catching her breath. Inside, there was a small scrap of paper, rather than the expected photo. Ryo unfolded it. It was a note. A message. Ryo read it aloud;

_I am having bagi escape with a rice ball. I have instructed bagi to bury the rice ball in a mountain, hiding it. Her intelligence has all but vanished, but she most likely understood my request. Should he know I betrayed him, the president will no doubt have me killed by attack dogs. Bagi will return to the wild. Probably, she will end her life in the mountains. Life forms like bagi and the rice ball should nom be made by humans. I have been a bad scientist, and a bad mother. Ryosuke, I'm sorry. Take care. Mom_

_So the president wouldn't have her. Ryo felt as though he had lost everything. He then remembered that there could still be hope for her yet. There would be several precautions at a lab to help prevent staff death. It was highly likely that his mom go a hold on something, and managed to save herself._

_Ryo looked at Bagi. She was looking down, and her eyes looked moist. Understanding, Ryo scooted closer to her, and hugged her around her neck. "… If my mom said you should never be made by humans, then you aren't. I won't believe that you never should have been." A tear fell on the back of his neck, and Bagi gently licked it off. _

_Remembering the rest of the note, Ryo released Bagi. "We had better bury that rice ball…" She didn't have it. It probably got lost in the impact. "Where did it!" They searched the surrounding aria. Eventually, Ryo found it under the roots of the tree he had hit into. He wouldn't be surprised if he had caused that opening in the roots himself. He was limping about like someone had shot the dentists numbing stuff into his leg. He wished someone had. _

_He bent over, supporting himself on his legs, and reached down to pick up the case of rice. Pain ripped through his already torn body, and a loud gunshot was heard overhead. To his surprise, there was a helicopter above him when he looked up. It had been so silent. How could a chopper be so quiet? The bullet had shot downward and ripped through the side of his frontal arm, and the pain seared through him. He stumbled backward, and fell on his hind end. _

"_Give up the rice ball, or we will be forced to kill you!" said a man on the loud speaker. Ryo held his new cut tightly with his other hand. "Ba…!" he managed. Without warning, he was yanked backwards, just as another shot rang out. No new marks manifested themselves with pain, so ether he had been saved, or they had missed… Or were shooting at Bagi. _

_Fortunately, it was the first, as Bagi jumped over his head and grabbed the rice ball. It was apparent she had been watching him for a while now. She turned sharply, then, with a running dash, butted Ryo low. The hit made him go slightly air-born, allowing Bagi to slip under him and onto her back, and probably breaking another bone…_

_Authors note. This is based on a 1984 anime movie about an anthromorphic something. Check it out on you tube. "Bagi the monster of mighty nature". Best one posted by darksonic3. Please support the official movie. If you see my comments, give me a shout. Dimondsi is my name_

_I personally love this movie. And before anyone upon anyone asks, no. I don't like it because I am a lemon, or a yiff lover, [though I wont deny I am a furry lover] or anything of the sort. I am none of them. I detest sexication in all its forms. I say this because this movie is "suggestive." Let it be known that you have been warned. _


	2. Chapter 2, what lies

Chapter 2, Live and learn.

The wolfling slammed agents the side of the hard, steel kennel. He had known very few places in his life, the confides of the cell being the chef among all of them. The other's were the halls in the world he lived in, and a small wooded section just outside of the world. Anything beyond that was blocked off by cinder block walls. The wolfling hated holding still, and had taken to ramming himself agents the sides of the steel pen he was kept in at most hours. He enjoyed the feeling of tension that came with hitting the case, even when it hurt. He had often torn the white, loose fitting clothing that he had been made to where.

After a while of ramming the sides, he sat down and waited for his energy to return to him. The door to the cage was opened quickly, and a plastic food dish with meat was shoved into the cage with the wolfling. The wolfling quickly covered his ears with his hands, and the door was shut quickly behind the dish. The noise of the metal bashing agents metal had always hurt the wolf ling's ears, and had quickly learned to protect his hearing. He walked over on all fours and looked tentatively into the dish. Usually, there would be two or three slices of delicious meat. This time, there was two, but with an appealing looking bone poking out from under the food.

The wolfling pulled out the bone, and gnawed on it for all its worth. He had very few bones ever given to him, and he always enjoyed them to the fullest. He gnawed until his jaw hurt, then tucked the bone away in the back corner of the cage. Usually, if he left bones to close to the front of the kennel, or had them for very long, they would be taken. He decided, sub consciance, to save the meat for a bit latter, and started throwing himself agents the back of the cage again. But, he under stepped, and ended up ramming his head rather than his side agents the barrier. He recoiled in pain, and, ducking down, he whimpered his pain from under his hands. Eventually, he recovered from the hit, and geared up for another throw.

To his surprise, a small dent formed where he had struck, and a piece of the metal had been shoved back. The wolfling gazed at it for a while, then went to investigate. There was a small hole, early enough for him to look through. There was a dark back to his home. He silently began to push at the gap, trying to widen it. He liked to explore, and this new place was the perfect way to start. The metal pulled back some with every push. The wolfling found it hard to continue the work, eventually each push becoming a chore. He worked at it, though, until there was enough space for him to squeeze through. He pushed his way through into the tight place, and came out into a long, narrow, alleyway. Both ends were blocked off with steel paneling, leaving only the small area for the wolfling to work in.

But he explored it with painstaking interest. There was a wall, on his left, that was especially cold, and didn't react when he pushed it. The other wall was just as unresponsive, but was warmer, and, when he pushed his ear to it, the wolfling could hear sound of other creatures from through it. He had herd them before, but only from the front part of his cage. He had learned, when he was transported to the enclosed wood, that there were other being inside cages just like his own. Now, he formulated, he was behind those cases. But they were all blocked off entirely. The wolfling couldn't ram them, and he didn't feel like meeting the creatures inside.

Moving around inside the space grew boring quickly. He had to stand on his hind legs to turn, and there wasn't much happening. He turned to return to his home, and to eat his meat, when a small, quiet cry came from near by, almost as though made form something standing on his hand. He lowered his head down to listen. The cry came again. One he did not recognize. He looked through a small opening in the back of the crate he was behind, and came face to face with a small, pink face. The creature just stared back at the wolfling, and again made a faint mew.

Curiosity took over, and the wolfling put one of his sharp claw nails into the hole, and pulled back on it. It slipped out after pulling, but the wolfling continued pulling. It was, surprisingly, easier to pull out this metal than it was to bash in the one on the side of his crate. Eventually, he worked open a hole larger than the one he made before and crawled into the crate.

It was similar to his own, except with less space in it. He had crawled in next to the kitten, and looked at it now. The wolfling could see that it was weak, as though it never got enough to eat, yet was still half of his height. Suddenly, a sharp, but faded snarl came form near by, and the wolfling turned towards the cause of the sound. A yellow, matted lioness was lying on her side, and was looking back at him with a trained gaze. She to, looked weak, and couldn't put much into her warning. These two were slowly starving to death. It they gave them as much as they gave him, then they weren't getting enough. A lioness with a kitten, especially one as large as hers, would need more. But such thoughts weren't the wolf ling's workings. He only responded to the warning motherly snarl.

He slipped out of the crate, and pushed his way through the narrow passage back to his cage. He pulled the hole bigger with his teeth, then slipped inside. He looked at the dish, his mouth watering suddenly at the prospect of food. He approached the dish, and grabbed one slice of the tender meat with his teeth. He felt a sudden tugging. He felt unfinished. He couldn't eat until he had done what he needed to.

He shook the thought away. This was food, and food was meant to be eaten. He tentatively swallowed the meat, feeling unable to chew over this unsettled feeling. He quickly devoured the second piece, feeling a gut wrenching surge as he did. What had happened to him? He quickly decided to walk around, hoping to work off the feeling.

He pushed back out through the crack he had made in the side of his cage, and out to the opposite end of the small dark alleyway. Like before, there were strange noises coming from all sorts of different places in the wall on his right. But, he ignored them, and followed the small route to its opposite end. There was some slight rustling coming from the opposite side of the ally ways end, barely audible above the noise of the right wall. The wolf ling's curiosity got the better of him, and searched around for a was past the wall.

There were no indentations like in the back of the cages, and seemed hard and unmovable in comparison. There was a small, weathered hole at the top, though, with the wall jutting in. The wolfling could see a slight amount of light coming form the hole. He thought it was worth the try. There were several small cracks in the wall, all of which were too small to be a paw hold. But…

The wolfling shoved his claws into the highest crack he could, and pulled himself, belly flat, against the wall. His body screamed out in protest at the effort, but he ignored the prompting and pulled himself higher with his other set of claws. When he had at least two or more sets of claws in a claw hold, his nails did not hurt, as though they were meant to work as a set. Slowly, claw by claw, he pulled himself up the side of the wall, bracing his back feet agents the wall for extra support.

It was a long and tough journey, but eventually the small wolfling made it to the top of the barrier, and was stuck in place beneath the ledge. The ledge spanned out almost a foot out of reach, and the bottom was so marred that there wasn't a proper claw hold. The wolfling decided that it was worth the jump, and pulled his hind Legs into a steady wall crouch. He let go of the wall with his hands, and pushed off with all his might away from the wall.

The feeling was incomprehensible. The out bent end came up at him quickly, and for the first time of his life, he felt like he was completely tether free. He scored the underside with his feet as his hands touched the opposite end of the ledge. But, on contact, his body flipped downward, and his hands grasped the nearest thing to him, some big groves in the end of the ledge. His body swung a large amount, making it hard to hold on. He had to get up on the top quick, or his strength would fail him. His body swung forward again, and he took advantage of the momentum to flip himself under the edge of the platform and onto the top of it. He had amazed himself with the move. It didn't last long. the motion set his balance off. He fell back onto his back, then flopped over his head onto his stomach.

The small creature slowly stood up, and shook its head clear. Surprise at what had happened momentarily over took him. His curiosity quickly over took him at where he had placed himself. He turned back to the gap that had been invisible up to this point. He had thought he had found a new perch to rest on, but a crisp place was joined to the location. The world was dim, and there was scarcely much to see. The only thing that caught the wolfling's attention was a wide open passage, similar to the one he was looking out of now, only in a perfect shape, a rectangle. With no time or consideration, he stepped back, and ran across to the gap between, then jumped. It was similar to his previous jump, but shorter, and he hadn't had to climb up to it. His out stretched paws were ready to meet the solid ground. But, the floor inside was irregular. The center of his for hands was where his weight landed. The inside of the gap had a rounded up flooring. His paws instantly gave way to the sudden awkward and the wolfling crashed to the floor.

He whimpered his pains out, until they no longer bothered him. When he finally found his footing in the strange, metallic passage, he continued onward. It became vary evident that there was a breeze in the tunnel, and the wolfling relished it. It was like the air that came out of the hole on the top of his cage. He was far to exhilarated to enjoy it for very long. He wanted to scamper every which way. And so he did. Light filtered in from port holes in the bottom of the cave. They would often go out, though, before the wolfling had a chance to see what was down them. Beyond his tiny knowledge, was the fact that the laboratory was shutting down for the night.

He didn't care that he couldn't see much. This was still an adventure to him, and was like his small world of before, except that it continued on forever. Once more, against his knowledge, was the fact that cooling and heating units were by floor basis, so he had no chance to know that he was several feet above real ground. He just thought that he had found a new world and a passage to get there. He couldn't have known about floors above and below, or what awaited on either of them. He just knew that he had escaped into the world that the people lived in. It was outside his crate, just like they were. How could this not be the same.

As anything new, he was attracted to any light he saw. A left on lamp in a big, classroom like room. A cracked door revealing light from the still lit hallways. Each one was an undeniable attraction to him. But, interest in the world prevented him from trying to get to each light. Besides, in his mind, if you could stand on it, you couldn't break it. It was an undeniably law. The walls of his crate would give when struck, as did the top. But the bottom was impenetrable, even unmovable. It never gave way to anything, not the large creatures that gave him meat, and put him in strange machines, or the even bigger machines he was placed into.

Then, the breeze stopped blowing. It was sudden. No for warning. No adequate reason. It stopped. Everything was still. The wolfling still traveled the tunnel system. Slower. Everything was less interesting. Lights no longer blazed up through the large holes. He sat down and contemplated. He had no idea or familiarity with the place. He found himself tired, and wanting to go back to his crate. He couldn't find it. Not by sight. So he honed his known sense. He inhaled deeply, hoping to catch a scent that would lead him home. Any recognizable smell.

He quickly recognized the growing scent of other living animals, a scent he had grown use to living in his cage. But there was a more intriguing smell, fainter, but more. It was the smell of food, of meat. The prospect of more food snapped out his fatigue. He turned his back on home. He was out for what life was lived on. Food. He followed the tunnels through the dark, trusting in his nose and skin feel alone. It was several bumps and moments of looking later that he found it.

There was a hot wind coming from the end of the tunnel. It then, opened up at a large, dark cavern of some. It was slightly larger than his own case. He felt his way around, and wondered to the side of the small container. He reached up tentatively with his paw hand, and let it rest on the side of the wall. It was stone cold, and he pulled back in surprise. He wouldn't have given the room another thought, except that the smell of meat was coming from the opposite side of it. He once more pressed his hand against the surface, more forcefully that before.

The wall pressed back under his touch. The cool air rushed in and sent icy demons over him. He once more pulled back. The wall snapped back behind it, rushing back to its natural position, and slamming shut like it was. The pup yelped his surprise. This was the strangest wall ever. He pulled up his courage, and slammed head first into the was, hoping to make it through before it snapped back at him once more. His head met the hard metal, and it instantly shot away and to the wolfling's right. He hit into another wall on the far side with his shoulder. An audible clank sounded out as the door closed behind him. He felt the coldness of the new aria. And the ever strong scent of meat was sharp hear. But, it was also dank. He shivered. He never felt so cold. Or dark. Where?

He remembered his mission, and quickly scented around for the food.

He found it, in a huge stack in the far wall. There were many strange things in the new room. Open top jars like the people outside his cage would fiddle with. Several other unidentifiable objects were there two. But cold focused the pups attention. He quickly worked his way through the locked maze to the food. He eagerly gripped one with his teeth. The meat repulsed his teeth, bearing the same cold and hardness that everything in here was. He had never found such a meat that actually fought back.

Subliminally, he thought of the cold and how it changed the food. It behaved differently compared to when it was in warmer conditions. Thus, cold and hot must be opposites of one another. He remembered the warmth of the smaller room that he had come from.

A small idea made real itself. If he could warm the meat, it would not fight back him once more. He grabbed as many as he could humanly carry in his mouth. He worked backwards through the maze once more. He came round, and got the first real look at the small room he was returning to. There was a barred off vent in the front side. As he neared it, the intense cold amplified itself. The cold was actually coming out of his heat shelter. He shook the though of. His body was becoming skin were, dragging him its way, down.

He pressed once more on the wall. But it didn't budge. He pressed hard. Nothing. He got onto his hind, and pressed open palmed on it. It gave no response. Its intent was to lock him into this death world! The meat was becoming a cold burn to his teeth. He remembered how the wall of his home gave way to pulling. There was a small indentation in the wall. He quickly jammed his for claw into it and pulled.

Just as before, the wall resisted, but pulled back all the same. He pulled it out as wide as he allowed himself. He pulled himself back, and sprung back to the safety of the room. Warmth once more flooded him, and he let out a an exasperated breath, letting his collection spill out on the floor.

He had done it. Returned the meat to normal heat. Now all he had to do was wait. He lifted his paw to lick the back of it. It came in contact with a good sized metal box next to the wolfling, and it stabbed him. With heat. He pulled back and yipped. His paw hurt! He had never felt this before. He didn't like it. He wanted to call out his pain. He didn't. He pulled out a furious rage. He tried to rid himself of the pain by hitting it on the wall. It didn't help. First.

The cold of the walls instantly tamed the wild pain. He pulled it back slowly. The heat manifested itself once more, taking its place once more. He pressed it against the wall once more. The cool again condemned the hot. He let it tend to his wound.

He begin thinking once more again. The walls were cold. Warmth and cold were opposite of one another. Cold cured hot things, while hot cured cold things. That means that the box wasn't pain, but extreme hot.

The meat came to mind again. It was extreme cold. He touched it with his paw. It hadn't changed since he had brought it in. Extreme must be needed to deal with extreme. He bent over and picked up a single slab with his teeth, careful of the bite it would administer. He placed it on top the box. Then the next. All together, covering the top with his catch. Then he turned his attention back to his hurt paw. It was cold again. He pulled it away. The heat welled up. Dully. He pressed it back onto the cold. Extreme cold was more desirable that extreme hot.

He lied down and waited. Waited. Dozed.\

He found himself into a half daze, when a popping sound whipped up. He shot up. He pulled his hurt away from the wall. It was only cold. No more heat made itself again.

The popping continued. It came from his meat. He quickly pawed it back to him. He was fear for something stealing it. All the popping continued. He pulled off all the meat. It popped. It sizzled. It was the popping.

He poked a claw into it. It gave way around his claw, like meat usually does. He bent over to eat it. The sick, bad feeling returned. He didn't want to eat it. He did. It was food. He shrugged it off. He ate the first piece. It was really good. He was surprised. It was better than that which was brought to him. He finished the first piece. He went for another. But he was held back most powerfully once more. He couldn't deny the feeling any more. He stopped eating. He decided to bring his catch back with him to his cage.

He piled the still warm meat into his mouth. It watered. He ignored it. He followed his steps, and found the animal smell he was use to. He followed it back to the cave entrance, and leaped back across. He found groves in the side next to the platform, like the ones he had used to climb up here. He climbed them all the way back down to the steel alleyway. He crossed back, to the jagged metal that marked his homes entrance.

He passed the pink kittens crate. He herd some faded crooning. He remembered the half starved pink kitten and its mother. He couldn't pass them up. Instinct forbade it. He crawled back in. He was ready for the snarl that would meat him, and he received it. The mother was staring back at him, eyes narrowed at him. He wanted to flee. She was a terrible force to be against. Then, his instinct struck him. He approached slowly. He snarled her disapproval. He continued forward, then laid his catch at a safe distance, so he wouldn't be struck, but in the same way that it could be retrieved by the mother.

She sniffed it cautiously. Then, she began to eat it. The pink kitten, roused from sleep. Wandered towards the new smell. Her mother pushed a section of the meat to her. The kitten just stared at it. Then, excitement filled its eyes in the dim light, and it consumed the meat as fast as it could.

Feeling he had done as he should, and feeling lighter than usual. He left the way he came.

It dawned on him to classify the two. His creativity boosted. A name instantly leapt out at him. Lynx. It was a term one of the people had uses while pointing at a cage near his. He didn't know her to be a lion. So, to him, she was now lynx.

Then he thought of the kit. She was unusual. Unusual creped at him. One word, one he hadn't herd before, became the kittens name. He didn't question it. Bagi!


	3. Chapter 3, Connections 1

Chapter 3, eat…

There was almost a days worth of warning. The people outside were moving around hastaly, and carrying cases that looked similar to Zinico's small domain. They had small devices and wiry things. They were stuffing them into other things, and talking erratically. It was the same day he had taken to calling himself Zinico.

Then, the next morning, the front of his cage opened. Just right open. There wasn't any hand to hold him back, nor food being shoved in with him. Instead, two black colored hands connected to the usual white arms reached in and seized him around the waist. He didn't fight it. He figured it was just another thing that the people wanted of him. This was the first time he actually got to see one of their faces clearly. He studied it intently.

Their face was similar to his own, as he saw it in the water that was provided. Bagi's too, but less so. The difference was the size of face. And, they had their ears on the sides of their heads, not on top. At least, he thought they were their ears… If he had any knowledge of laughing, he would break into a fit now. But he only smiled at the guy. It said a few words of surprise. All Zinico recognized was "Hay… Like…" The rest were strange and unusual.

The man put Zinico into the case, and shut the door behind him . Zinico, who had only woken up, returned to sleep, curling up around his limbs and putting his fluffy tail across his face. His tail tickled him, but he did it anyway. Just an innate trait.

He warily opened one eye when he heard another cage being opened. The man who had handled Zinico was reaching in for Bagi. He heard a snarl, and a sharp yelp of pain. Bagi's mother must have really detested the taking of her only kitten. The man wasn't hurt, like Zinico thought. The black covering on his hands and arms protected him. It just was his first time, any of their first times for such an experiment, and was easily surprised.

The guy gathered himself, and grabbed Bagi out of the cage. There was another sharp snarl, but no responding cry. Bagi started mewing desperately. Had Zinico been cat, he would have responded to them. He was wolf, and had no interest in the sound. Though he caught on that Bagi was distressed. He pulled himself out of his compact shape and put his face to the front of his new cage. They put Bagi into another cage, a perfect duplicate of Zinico's, and closed the door behind her. She was still mewing in distress. Then, instantly, the cage lurched.

It was actually moving! Zinico gripped the bottom with his claws and yelped his surprise. It swung in suspense, and Zinico looked down at the floor. The cage had left the floor, and was moving through to the door on the opposite side of the room…


End file.
